Home Office

Pets: Sales

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatstepstheyare taking to stop scams that aim to defraud customers with the sale of non-existent pets.

baroness williams of trafford: We are aware that some criminals are seeking to exploit the present demand for pets.The Government launched a new campaign in March 2020, raising awareness of the dangers associated with buying pets online and deceitful sellers. The campaign, including advice for potential owners to follow, can be found at: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/.In parallel, City of London Police, as the National Lead Force for fraud, has been raising awareness about the specific risk of pet fraud. They publicised a story focused on this issue in May 2020 through social media. Their advice was highlighted by a number of news outlets, including the BBC.We would encourage those who have been victimised to report their case to Action Fraud.

British Nationality: British Overseas Territories

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what rights to enter the UK will be accorded to Hong Kong residents who were British Overseas Territories citizens until 1997.

baroness williams of trafford: Individuals in Hong Kong who were British Dependent Territories Citizens before 1997 and chose not to register for British National (Overseas) status may apply under existing immigration routes to come to live, work or study in the UK. Those that hold Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports can visit for up to 6 months without needing a visa.Those British Dependent Territories Citizens who elected to retain close ties with the UK through registering for British National (Overseas) status will have the option of applying for a new Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa from January 2021. Successful applicants will be able to come and stay in the UK for up to 5 years, with a view to settlement and then citizenship if desired.Further details on this new immigration route can be found on gov.uk:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hong-kong-bno-visa-policy-statement



HK BN Visa Policy Statement - July 2020
(PDF Document, 498.22 KB)

Immigration: EU Nationals

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the rights of EU Citizens resident in the UK who have not yet been granted settled or pre-settled status (1) between now and 31 December, and (2) between 1 January and 30 June 2021.

baroness williams of trafford: The UK left the EU on 31 January on the basis of the EU Withdrawal Agreement reached in October 2019. The protections for resident EU citizens provided in the Withdrawal Agreement are now underpinned by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and by the EU Settlement Scheme.There will be no change to the current rights of resident EU citizens until the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, at which point free movement law will, subject to its parliamentary passage, be repealed by the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill.In line with the Withdrawal Agreement, EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 are eligible to apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The Government will bring forward secondary legislation under the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 to protect relevant residence rights under EU law during the grace period which will apply from 1 January 2021 until the application deadline of 30 June 2021. Provided an application to the EU Settlement Scheme is made by 30 June 2021, these rights will continue until the application is finally determined, including pending the outcome of an appeal against any decision to refuse status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Department for Education

Children: Day Care

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the availability of childcare provision; and what steps they propose to take tomitigate that impact on service providers and those dependent on such provision.

baroness berridge: In order to control the spread of COVID-19, early years settings were asked to only open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children from 20 March. An Ipsos MORI survey showed that three-quarters of critical workers with young children could access childcare during the coronavirus lockdown. The survey is available at: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/parents-0-4-year-olds-and-childcare-1st-june-2020.To ensure provision was available for all who needed it, local authorities have been able to redistribute free early years entitlement funding in exceptional cases to ensure childcare places are available for vulnerable and critical worker children.Early years providers have been able to open to all children from 1 June. The latest attendance data shows that on 30 July, an estimated 285,000 children were attending an early years setting. The latest data, published on 4 August, is available at:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-31.Since 20 July, early years settings have been able to return to their normal group sizes, paving the way for more children to transition back to their early education and supporting parents to return to work.On 20 July, we announced our commitment to continue paying local authorities for the childcare places they usually fund throughout the autumn term. This means that even if providers are open but caring for fewer children, they can continue to be funded as if the COVID-19 outbreak were not happening.Local authorities should also continue to fund providers which have been advised to close, or left with no option but to close, for public health reasons. That gives another term of secure income to nurseries and childminders who are open for the children who need them. Until the start of the 2020 autumn term, it remains the case that free early years entitlement funding can be used differently and redistributed in exceptional cases to ensure childcare places are available for vulnerable and critical worker children.The childcare sector has also been able to access a wider package of government support in the form of a business rates holiday, business interruption loans and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Full details of the support available is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#funding.For school-aged children, holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings have been able to open since 4 July, helping parents to meet their childcare needs during the school summer holidays.

Adoption Support Fund

baroness bennett of manor castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to set the Adoption Support Fund on a stable basis rather than making year-by-year announcements; whether they will consider lifting the cap for individual support above £5,000; and whether they plan to extend their support to respite care and psychological support for parents, on the same basis to that currently provided to foster families.

baroness berridge: The Adoption Support Fund provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for children who have left the care system either through adoption or special guardianship order. Since its launch in 2015, the Adoption Support Fund has approved £168 million to deliver support, such as therapeutic parenting, creative therapies, and specialist assessments to 59,000 families.The government acted quickly to establish the Adoption Support Fund COVID-19 Scheme in April 2020, and has provided over £6 million to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to support up to 61,000 families to meet needs arising from the COVID-19 outbreak. The funding included support for activities, such as couples counselling, which would normally be outside the scope of the standard Adoption Support Fund.On 17 July 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review, which will set out the government’s spending plans for the next three years. The Comprehensive Spending Review will be published in the autumn. We will consider future funding, scope and fair access limits for the Adoption Support Fund as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review discussions.